Centrifugal pump.



A. B. WOOD.

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, ms.

Patented May 9, 1916.

INVENTOR.

plurality to eliminate ALBERT B. WOOD, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patent-ed May 9, 1916.

Application filed September 10, 1915. Serial No. 49,847.

'1 '0 all lit/tom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. WVooo, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCentrifugal Pumps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full.clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in centrifugal pumps. Such pumpsare frequently employed for pumping water containing foreign substances,such as drainage water, which frequently contains roots, grass, rags,paper and other trash of this nature, as well as blocks of wood or othersolid substances of considerable volume. Such pumps may also be used forpumping dredge water, which may sometimes contain stones of considerablesize. These obiects frequently lodge in the' pump, sometimes placing itout of service entirely, and at least greatly reducing its efficiency.In deed, sometimes the nature of the foreign substances lodging in thepump may be such as to cause its injury or destruction.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pump of this nature whichcan accomplish the foregoing objects, and which is provided with vanestaking up little or none of the circumference of the impeller, therebyenabling me to discharge the water uniformly over the entire peripheryof the impeller, thereby avoiding the creationof eddies in the voluteand the consequent loss of efliciency.

'lhese and other objects of my invention will probably be betterunderstood from a description of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a'section through the impeller about which I haveillustrated a volute. Fig. 2 is a section through the impeller at rightangles to the section shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are sections alongthe lines O of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing. at 6 isshown the volute or casing which surrounds the impeller 7. The impelleris provided with a of vanes. shown at S and 9. The forward ends 10 ofthese vanes are rounded all sharp points and edges upon which trashmight catch. The curvature of the ends should be such as would tend tooust any such trash as rags or papers which engage the ends of thevanes. In the form shown, I have illustrated the surfaces as uniformlyrounded from the foremost element to points, here shown at 100 and 101,where the vanes begin to take the curvature for the purpose of impellingthe water. I have here illustrated the vanes as being pro vided withforward ends, semi-elliptical in cross-section, though, of course, thecurvature of the surfaces may be varied Without departing from thespirit of my invention. The edges 30 of the vanes are also curved, orconvexly rounded where they meet the main walls 11 of the impeller, asshown at '12 and 18.- This formation will prevent the lodging of trashbetween the vanes and thewalls of the impeller. These two curvaturesmeeting on the corners of the fronts of the vanes will give the cornersa rounded or substantially rounded curvature.v \Vhile making thesesurfaces curved tends to prevent the accumulation of trash in the pump,such accumulation is effectively prevented by giving a convex curvatureto the surfaces as they engage the water, and thereby utilizing theforce of the water to remove 'the trash from the impeller. This will beappreciated when it is considered that were trash to strike any point ofthe front of the vanes or any point along the connection between thevanes and the impeller, the Water rushing over such curved surfacetoward the rear would immediately carry such trash on through the pump.

The vanes are given a curvature suitable for the purpose of impellingthe water, together with the foreign substances therein containedthrough the pump, and of transmitting thereto force applied to the pump,therebv increasing the velocity of the water.

.The vanes extend from the point 10 to the point 15 upon thecircumference of the im peller, as will be seen. taking up but littlesurface thereon. and thereby permitting water to flow in considerablevolume down both sides of the vanes, washing the trash away. shaft 16 isprovided, through which the impeller is driven by any suitable source ofpower. such as an engine, motor or the like. The fluid enters theimpeller at 17 and is caught by the vanes, which increase its velocityand force it into the chamber 18 in the volute through the passages 19and 20. In order to prevent any solid object which enters the impellerat 17 lodging therein, I make the width of the passages 21 and 22 asgreat or greater than the width of the entrance 17, he rounded ends ofthe vanes striking such object and rolling it on into these passages,whence the water sweeps it into the volute and outward.

The vanes, as will be seen at 15, take up but little of the periphery ofthe impeller, thereby enabling the pump to discharge the water uniformlyover the entire periphery of the impeller. Consequently, no eddies orshocks are caused in the volutes with consequent loss of efiiciency ofthe pump.

I have illustrated the embodiment shown in the drawing and its detailsfor the purpose of better explaining my invention. I do not wish to belimited to such embodiment and details, as many departures may be madetherefrom without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim 1. In an impeller for centrifugal pumps, the combination of oneor two impeller walls, a plurality of vanes having forward ends convexlyrounded on all sides, said vanes extending curvilineally from suchforward ends to the periphery of the propeller and being lessened incross-section as they approach such periphery, where their rear endsoccupy but little of the periphery, permitting a uniform orsubstantially uniform discharge of water from the impeller, such vanesbeing supported from one or both of said Walls.

2. In an impeller for centrifugal pumps, the combination of vanesupporting walls, a plurality of vanes having forward ends convexlyrounded on all sides, the forward ends being substantiallysemi'elliptical on cross-sections taken parallel to the main impellerwalls, the forward ends of the vanes being positioned between the centerand periphery of the impeller, such vanes extending curvilineally fromthe forward ends in gradually decreasing cross-sectional :Breas to theperiphery of the impeller, where the rear ends of the vanes occupy butlittle of the periphery of the impeller, permitting free and uniformdischarge of water from the impeller.

3. In an impeller for centrifugal pumps, the combination of a pair ofcircular vane supporting walls each other and spaced apart, one of saidwalls being provided with an opening through which water flows into theim peller, means for rotating said impeller connected to the otherwalls, a plurality of vanes connecting said walls, no part of any vanebeing nearer any part of any other vane than the length of the diameterof substantially parallel to said opening, said vanes being providedwith forward ends convexly rounded on all sides, said forward ends beingpositioned between the center and periphery of said walls and said vanesextending curvilineally from their forward ends to the periphery of thewalls, where they are narrowed down to occupy but little of suchperiphery, permitting a uniform discharge of water from the impeller.

4. In a centrifugal pump impeller, the combination of vanes providedwith forward ends which are rounded on a considerable radius and withrear ends occupying but little of the periphery of the impeller.

5. In a centrifugal pumpimpeller, the coinbination of a support, vaneson said supportprovided with forward ends convexly rounded on all sidesand with narrow rear ends on the periphery of the impeller occupying butlittle of such periphery.

(3. In a centrifugal pump impeller, the combination of a pair ofcircular vane supporting walls and a plurality of vanes supportedbetween said walls, the forward ends of the vanes being convexly curvedwhere they join said walls.

7. In a centrifugal pump, the combination of a pair of substantiallycircular vane supporting disks and a plurality of vanes between saiddisks, the forward ends of said vanes having a substantiallysemi-elliptical shaped front perpendicular to the planes of the disksand convexly rounded where the front ends of the vanes join the disks.

8. In an impeller for centrifugal pumps, the combination of a pair ofsubstantially disk-shaped vane supporting walls, one of said walls beingprovided with an opening for the ingress of water, a plurality of vanesmounted between said walls providing a path through the impeller whichwill allow a sphere of the diameter of the inlet to pass entirelythrough the impeller, said vanes being large at the forward end andextending in gradually reducing cross-sectional area to the peripheriesof said walls.

9. In an impeller for centrifugal pumps, the combination of a pair ofsubstantially disk-shaped vane supporting walls, one of said walls beingprovided with an opening for the ingress of water, a plurality of vanesmounted between said walls, providing a path through the impeller whichwill allow the passage of a sphere of the diameter of said opening, saidvanes being convexly rounded at the forward ends and extending to theperipheries of the disks.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 2nd day ofSeptember, 1915.

A. B. \VOOD.

